High school students spend their time doing more than just schoolwork. Sports, band, choir, clubs, and part-time jobs also fight for time on their schedules. As a parent, your child’s busy life becomes your busy life: cheering them on, offering them support, and giving them rides, all while ensuring they stay on top of their grades. Throw studying for the ACT into the mix, and time management can become a problem—for both you and your child.

ACT private tutoring can help. A tutor will help your child prepare for the ACT in the appropriate amount of time, maximize each tutoring session, study the right way outside of tutoring sessions, and take the test without worrying about the time limit.

Managing Lead Time

Students should never “cram” for the ACT, but how far in advance should they start studying? According to Dr. John M. Grohol, using practice tests and spreading study time evenly over a semester are the best ways to retain information. “Those techniques are going to be the most time-effective and the best use of your brain cells,” he writes on Psychcentral.com (“2 Important Strategies for Effective Studying”). At A+ Test Prep & Tutoring, we begin with a free diagnostic assessment, and then we use the results to develop a customized program of instruction for your student. This “game plan” includes all of the content, strategies, and practice your student needs, as well as a test prep calendar that is appropriately spaced out leading up to test day.

Maximizing Tutoring Sessions

Not only do A+ tutors work with families to schedule sessions in a time frame that will maximize results, but we also work hard to maximize tutoring time—pinpointing specific areas of weakness and working at the appropriate level and pace for your student. We want each student to complete a tutoring session feeling that it was worth his or her time, and our tutors will ensure they are meeting your child’s needs and helping him achieve his score improvement goals.

Regulating Outside Study

ACT tutors guide students through each tutoring session, but students will need to do some studying on their own time as well. Homework exercises are assigned after each session to reinforce the specific skill areas and strategies that your child needs to know on test day. When students spend too much time studying, “Concentration becomes more difficult and learning that is meaningful and productive is almost impossible,” an article published by Academia International (“Are You Studying Too Much?”) states. A+ tutors advise students about how much time should be spent outside of tutoring sessions so that they don’t overdo it.

Pacing Test-Taking

The experience of taking the ACT is often described by students as a race against the clock. During your student’s ACT tutoring program, his A+ tutor will work with him to help him determine the appropriate pacing on each section of the ACT. In addition, his tutor will provide general time-saving strategies, problem-specific strategies, as well as practice with multiple, timed practice tests. When it is time to take his actual ACT, your student will be able to approach the ACT test without being stressed out about time limits.

ACT private tutoring is a commitment that may add to your family’s busy schedule—but the experience can also help your student manage the time needed to be successful on the ACT.